Separator for bottles



Aug. 2, 1966 A. J. WEISS SEPARATOR FOR BOTTLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 8, 1962 INVENTOR AETHUE J. walss Vial?!" 7 ATTORNEYS Aug. 2, 1966 A. J. WEISS SEPARATOR FOR BOTTLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 8, 1962 AETHUE J. Wmss ATTORNEYS 28 \Es l BY f United States Patent 3,263,893 SEPARATOR FOR BOTTLES Arthur J. Weiss, Bergenfield, N.J., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 178,481 18 Claims. (Cl. 229-15) This invention relates in general to new and useful improvements in the packaging field, and more particularly to a novel separator which may be placed between bottles disposed in rows so as to retain the bottles out of contact with one another and thereby preventing damage to the bottles during handling.

It has been found that one of the most economical manners of packaging bottles for shipment and ease of handling is to provide a wrap-around bottle carrier wherein bottles, with the exception of the necks thereof, are encased, and the necks project through a suitable opening in a top wall of the bottle carrier. While the bottle carrier is of an extremely simple econstruction and may be readily placed around the bottles, the bottle carrier in itself has no means for preventing the lower portions of the bottles from coming into contact with one another. This is not only undesirable for shipment of packages of bottles disposed Within the bottle carriers by truck, but is prohibited for railroad shipment. It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a novel separator which may be inserted between the bottles within a bottle carrier so as to absolutely prevent contact of the bottles with one another.

In the past, there have been devised bottle carriers which have been provided with separators of the general type to which this invention relates. However, these separators, when the simplicity thereof is maintained, are not suitable for use with bottles having projections or bulge points thereon. In the usual bottle separator construction, the bottle separator is shaped from a single ply which is suitably divided to provide a body panel having a pair of dividers struck therefrom, the body panel being disposed between rows of bottles, and the divide-rs being disposed between the individual bottles in the rows. Such a bottle separator has proved successful for use with bottles having straight Walled lower portions in that the bottle contacting surfaces on the body panel may be vertically offset from the bottle contacting surfaces on the dividers. However, when the bottles have relatively narrow projecting contact areas, prior single ply bottle separators fail in that no means can be provided on the body panel for contacting the specific restricted areas of the bottles since the material of the original blank which is aligned with the bottle contact areas is taken up by the dividers. This is particularly true of that portion of the body panel which will engage the central bottles of the two rows.

In view of the foregoing, it is another object of this invention to provide a novel separator for bottles arranged in rows wherein the bottles are provided with projecting contact areas, the separator including a body panel and a pair of dividers, and the body panel having bottle contact areas which are aligned with bottle contact areas of the dividers so that the dividers and the body panel may engage bottles in the same general plane.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel bottle separator for use in bottle carriers of the wraparound type, the bottle separator including a body panel having a pair of dividers struck therefrom, each of the dividers having corner portions arranged to be engaged between projecting portions of bottles, and the body panel having opposed tabs which are centrally located and which lie in the same plane as respective corners of the dividers so that the corners of the dividers and the tabs on the body panel may engage the same general projecting portions of bottles.

A further object of this invention is to providee a novel 'bottle separator which is of a single panel construction and which includes a body panel having at least two dividers struck therefrom with each divider extending to opposite sides of the body panel, and the dividers being connected to the body panel along hinge lines, the hinge lines of the dividers being spaced apart a distance in eX- cess of the diameter of the bottle for which the bottle separator is intended whereby each divider has a larger central area of the body panel from which material is available and at the same time, the divider location makes available additional material adjacent the ends of the body panel, which material has not previously been utilized in bottle separator construction, thereby permitting the use of material of the body panel in forming the dividers which is not aligned with the bottles in the two rows of bottles so that the body panel has material remaining at critical points and at the same time, the dividers are of full width and properly engage between bottles in the individual rows of bottles.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel bottle separator which includes a body panel having a pair of dividers struck therefrom and connected thereto along spaced hinge lines, the spacing between the hinge lines being in excess of the diameter of a bottle for which the bottle separator is intended, whereby additional material is made available at the center of the body panel for forming the dividers, and there remaining as part of the body panel a central web which assures against the engagement of central ones of the bottles in the two rows, the dividers each having a half extending to an opposite side of the body panel, and two halves of each divider being disposed in angular relation so as to project back towards the center of the separator and thus be aligned between endmost ones of the bottles in the rows and the central bottles in the rows.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a simple blank construction which may be readily die cut in a single operation and which may be handled by existing bottle separator positioning equipment, the blank being particularly shaped to accomplish the desired results of the aforementioned bottle separator.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawing:

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a conventional type of bottle carrier which is provided with a bottle separator in accordance with this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the bottle separator utilized in the bottle carrier of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, and shows the specific relationship of the bottle separator with respect to bottles disposed within the bottle carrier.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken transversely of the bottle carrier of FIGURE 1 along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1 and shows further the specific relationship of the bottle separator with respect to the bottles within the bottle carrier.

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 3, and shows the specific position of the dividers of the bottle separator between adjacent bottles in a row, one of the bottles being omitted to show the details of the bottle separator.

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the blank from which the bottle separator of FIGURE 2 is formed.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, reference is first made to FIGURE 1 wherein the general details of a conventional type of bottle carrier, generally referred to by the numeral 10, are illustrated. The bottle carrier includes a top wall, generally referred to by the numeral 11, side walls 12 and 13, and bottom panels 14' and 15 connected to the side walls 12 and 13, respectively. The bottom panels 14 and 15 are disposed in overlapping relation and are connected together at spaced points corresponding to bottle spacing within the carrier 10 by suitable locking tab units 16 which will not be described in detail here.

The top Wall 11, although it may be flat, is of the arched type and includes a central horizontal panel 17 having outer panels 18 sloping downwardly and outwardly therefrom. Bottle neck receiving openings 19 are formed in the top wall 11, the openings 19 extending in the panels 17 and 18. The top wall panel 17 is also provided with finger receiving openings 20 disposed substantially at the third points to facilitate the passage of ones fingers to effect the lifting and carrying of the bottle carrier 10 and the contents thereof.

The side walls 12 and 13 are illustrated as being in downwardly converging relation. However, as far as the construction of the bottle separator of this invention is concerned, the side walls 12 and 13 may be of any construction. The side walls 12 and 13 are illustrated as having cut-out areas 21 to receive bottom portions of the bottles which may be carried by the carrier 10 to effect an interlock between the bottles and the side walls of the carrier 10. 1

Reference is now made to FIGURE 3 in particular, wherein it will be seen that the bottle carrier 10 contains six bottles B which are arranged in two rows of three bottles each. Attention is also directed to FIGURE 4, wherein it is shown that the bottles B are of the type having a very short neck 22 and the upper ends of the bottles B are closed by the customary removable crown cap 23. The bottles B also differ from the usual bottles in that each bottle is provided with a lower bulge or projection 24 which extends entirely thereabout and an upper bulge 25, the bulges 24 and 25 being similar. It will thus be apparent that when two of the bottles B are disposed in side-by-side relation, if contact between the bottles occurs, it will be either between the bulges 24 or the bulges 25. It is therefore necessary to provide means within the bottle carrier 10 for preventing the engagement of the bulges 24 or the bulges 25. To this end, the bottle carrier 10 is provided with a bottle separator, generally referred to by the numeral 25, the bottle separator 25 being best shown in FIGURE 2.

The details of construction of the bottle separator 25 may be best understood after a detailed description of the blank from which it is formed, is considered. Accordingly, reference is now made to FIGURE 6, wherein there is shown the blank from which the bottle separator 25 is formed, the blank being referred to by the numeral 26. The blank 26 is generally rectangular in outline and is formed of an inexpensive paperboard. The blank 26 has a top edge 27, a bottom edge 28, and end edges 29 and 30. The blank 26 is provided with upper rounded corners 31. The top edge 27 is provided with a centrally located recessed area 32 which includes relatively deep recessed portions 33 which are aligned with the finger receiving openings 20 in the bottle carrier 10 when the bottle separator 25 is disposed therein, for receiving ones fingers. The bottom edge 28 of the blank 26 is also provided with suitable notches 34 which are aligned with the intended bottle spacing so as to provide clearance for the connecting tabs 16 of the bottle carrier.

It is to be noted that the blank 26 is symmetrical about a vertical centerlinc and a central portion of the blank is provided with two generally C-shaped cut lines 35 and 36 which are identical except for being in back-to-back relation. The C-shaped cut line 35 terminates in two transversely aligned free ends which intersect outer ends of hinge lines 37. Another generally C-shaped cut line 38 is formed in the left hand half of the blank 26 and opens towards the out line 35. The cut line 38 has free ends which are transversely aligned and which are disposed at the inner ends of the hinge lines 37. The cut lines 35 and 33, together with the hinge lines 37, define a panel 39 which may be swung out of the plane of the blank 26 about the hinge lines 37 The panel 39 is divided into two halves4t) and 41, with the half 40 being defined by the cut line 35 and the half 41 being defined by the cut line 38. The halves 40 and 41 are separated by a transverse fold line 42 which is aligned with the hinge lines 37.

The cut line 36 terminates in two transversely aligned free ends which, in turn, terminate at outer ends of transversely aligned hinge lines 43 which correspond to the hinge lines 37. Another C-shaped out line 44 is formed in the right :hand half of the blank 26 and opens in opposition to the cut line 36, the out line 44 being identical with the cut line 38. The out line 44 has two transversely aligned free ends which terminate at the inner ends of the hinge lines 43. The cut lines 36 and 44, together with the hinge lines 43, define a panel 45 which may be swung out of the plane of the blank 26 along the hinge lines 43; The panel 45 is divided into two halves 46 and 47 by a transverse fold line 48 which is aligned with the hinge lines 43 and forms a continuation thereof. The half 46 is defined by the out line 36 while the half 47 is defined by the out line 44.

It is to be noted that the shapes of the two out lines 35 and 36 are such so as to leave between the panels 39 and 4-5 a pair of inwardly projecting opposed tabs 49 which are connected together by a relatively wide web 50.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 2, wherein it will be seen that the blank 26 has the panels 39 and 45 struck therefrom so as to form the bottle separator 25. The bottle separator 25, when opened for insertion between six bottles B, includes a body panel 51 and a pair of dividers 52 and 53. The two dividers 52 and 53 are identical in outline, and reference is made to FIGURE 4, where the specific shape of the divider 52 is illustrated.

The divider 52, having been formed from the panel 39, has the central fold line 42 and is divided into two halves 54 and 55 which correspond to the panel halves 40 and 41, respectively. The divider half 54 is provided with two corner portions 56 and 57 which are vertically positioned to be aligned with the bulges 24 and 25, respectively, of the bottles B, and these two corner portions 56 and 57 are disposed between adjacent bottles in a row of bottles to prevent engagement of the respective bulges 24 and 25 thereof.

The divider half 55 is provided with a lower corner portion 58 and an upper corner portion 59 which are vertically aligned with the corner portions 56 and 57, respectively, and are vertically positioned for engagement between bulges 24 and 25, respectively, of adjacent ones of the bottles B disposed in a row.

The divider 53 is divided into two halves by the fold line 48, the halves being referred to by the numerals 60 and 61, which correspond to the panel halves 47 and 46, respectively. The divider half 60 has corner portions 62 and 63, which correspond to the corner portions 58 and 59, and the divider half 61 has corner portions 64 and 65 which correspond to the corner portions 56 and 57, respectively.

From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that the corner portions of the two dividers 52 and 53 serve to separate the bottles B from each other in the individual rows of bottles. On the other hand, the body panel 51 a is relied upon to separate adjacent bottles in the two rows of bottles, as is generally shown in FIGURE 3.

As is clearly shown in FIGURE 5, the tabs 49 are aligned with the centers of the central ones of the bottles l3 and are vertically positioned for engaging the bulges 24 and 25 In this manner, the adjacent central bottles B are prevented from coming into contact with one another.

At this time, it is pointed out that the respective hinge lines 37 and 43 and the fold lines 42 and 48 are outwardly offset beyond the normal third points of the blank 26 so that the hinge lines 37 and 43 are not aligned with the intersection between adjacent bottles in the rows of bottles. This is clearly shown in FIGURE 3. As a result, material is available on the body panel 51 at 66, as is best shown in FIGURES 2 and 5, aligned with the centers of the endmost bottles B and disposed in the same vertical plane as the corners 56, 58, 62 and 64, and the bulges 24 of the bottles B. In like manner, material is available at 67 on the body panel 51 in alignment with the centers of the endmost bottles B in the two rows and lying in the same plane as the corners 57, 59, 63 and 65 and the bulges 25 of the bottles, the material available at 67 providing for the spacing of the upper bulges 25 of transversely aligned end ones of the bottles B.

Attention is directed to FIGURE 3 wherein it will be seen that due to the fact that the hinge lines 37 and 43 and the fold lines 42 and 48 are not aligned with the intersections between adjacent bottles B, the halves of the dividers 52 and 53 do not lie in common planes, but slope inwardly towards the center of the carrier 10. However, the various corners of the dividers 52 and 53 are sufficiently spaced from the plane of the body panel 51 so as to be disposable between the bulges 24 and 25 along the longitudinal centers of the two rows of bottles B, as is clearly shown in FIGURE 3.

From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that the specific configuration of the bottle separator 25 provides for material thereof to be disposed between the bottles at all possible points of contact. Accordingly, while the bottle separator 25 requires a minimum amount of material and is of a single sheet construction, it is sufficient for the purpose and meets the shipping requirements of both trucking concerns and the railroads.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 7, wherein a modified form of bottle separator, generally referred to by the numeral 125, is illustrated. The bottle separator 125 is very similar to the bottle separator 25 and differs therefrom only in one minor detail. However, once again, it is deemed advisable to describe the details of the blank from which the bottle separator is formed prior to describing the details of the bottle separator per se. Accordingly, reference, is made to FIGURE 8 wherein the details of the blank, generally referred to by the numeral 126, are shown.

The blank 126 has the same outline as the blank 26 and includes a top edge 127, a bottom edge 128, and end edges 129 and 130. The blank 126 has upper rounded corners 131 and the central portion of the top edge 127 is cut out as at 132, with the cut out including relatively deep depressions 133 for receiving a persons fingers during the carrying of a bottle carrier of which the bottle separator 125 is a part. The bottom edge 128 is provided with notches 134.

The central portion of the blank 126 is provided with a pair of C-shaped cut lines 135 and 136 which are disposed in back-to-back relation and which have a common portion extending transversely of the blank 126 along the center line thereof, the blank 126 being symmetrical about the center line thereof. The free ends of the out line 135 terminate at the outer ends of transversely aligned fold'lines'137f The lefthalf of the blank 126 is provided with a C-shaped cut line 138 which opposes and opens into the C-shaped cut line 135. The cut line 138 has inner free ends which terminate at the inner ends '5 of the fold lines 137. The cut lines and 138 combine with the fold lines 137 to define a panel 139. The panel 139 is divided into two halves 140 and 141 by a transverse fold line 142 which is aligned with the hinge lines 137 and forms a continuation thereof.

The outer free ends of the cut line 136 terminate at outer ends of aligned hinge lines 143. A second C-shaped cut line 144 is formed in the right hand part of the blank 126 and opens inwardly towards the out line 136 in opposition thereto. The cut lines 136 and 144, together with the fold lines 143, combine to define a panel 145. The panel 145 is divided into halves 146 and 147 by a transverse fold line 148 which is aligned with and forms a continuation of the hinge lines 143.

It is to be noted that the shapes of the cut lines 135 and 136 are such that opposed inwardly projecting tabs 149 remain on the main portion of the blank 126 between the panels 139 and 145.

It will be noted that the blank 126 differs from the blank 26 only in the configuration of the cut lines 135 and 136 as compared to the configuration of the cut lines 35 and 36. While the tabs 149 correspond to the tabs 49, due to the particular configuration of the cut lines 135 and 136, the web 50 is eliminated in the blank 126.

Referring now to FIGURE 7, it will be seen that the bottle separator 127 includes a border-like body panel 151 which carries two dividers 152 and 153. The dividers 152 and 153 extend to opposite sides of the plane of the body panel 151 and are identical in outline.

The divider 152 is divided into two halves by the fold line 142, the halves being identified by the numerals 154 and 155. The divider half 154 has a lower corner 156 and an upper corner 157 while the divider half has a lower corner 158 and an upper corner 159, the four corners of the divider 152' corresponding to the four corners of the divider 52.

The divider 153 is also divided into two halves 160 and 161 by the fold line 148. The half 160 is provided with a lower corner 162 and an upper corner 163, while the divider half 161 is provided with a lower corner 164 and an upper corner 165, the four corners of the divider 153 corresponding to the four corners of the divider 53.

It is to be noted that the body panel 151 has the tabs 149 which correspond to the tabs 49 and serve to separate transversely adjacent central ones of bottles when the bottle separator 125 is in use. In addition, the body panel 151 is provided with lower bottle contacting areas 166 which correspond to the bottle contacting areas 66, and upper bottle contacting areas 167 which correspond to the upper bottle contacting areas 67 of the bottle separator 25.

It will be readily apparentthat the function of the bottle separator 125 is the same as that of the bottle separator 25. It will also be readily apparent that the bottle separator 125 will cooperate with a bottle carrier, such as the bottle carrier 10, in the same manner as described above with respect to the bottle separator 25. On the other hand, the bottle separator 125 has an advantage over the bottle separator 25 in that the divider halves extend continuously between the corners thereof and are adaptable for being engaged between smooth surface bottles and therefore, the bottle separator 125 is more useful when associated with smooth surfaced bottles than is the bottle separator 25.

- From the foregoing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the desired end. However, attention is directed to the fact that other variations may be made in the example bottle separators disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A separator for use in a bottle carrier of the wraparound type for maintaining bottles arranged in rows out of contact with one another, said separator comprising an elongated body panel having at least two dividers struck therefrom, each of said dividers being hingedly connected to said body panel along two aligned hinge lines for swinging movement from the plane of said body panel to a position generally transverse of said body panel with a portion thereof projecting to each side of said body panel, each of said dividers having two upper and two lower projecting corner portions for engagement between adjacent bottles, and said body panel having upper and lower sets of projecting bottle contacting surfaces for engagement with bottles, the number of bottle contacting surfaces in each set being one more than the number of said dividers.

2. A separator for use in a bottle carrier of the wraparound type for maintaining bottles arranged in rows out of contact with one another, said separator comprising an elongated body panel having at least two dividers struck therefrom, each of said dividers being hingedly connected to said body panel along two aligned hinge lines for swinging movement from the plane of said body panel to a position generally transverse of said body panel with a portion thereof projecting to each side of said body panel, each of said dividers having two upper and two lower corner portions for engagementbetween adjacent bottles, and said body panel having upper and lower sets of bottle contacting surfaces for engagement with bottles, the number of bottle contacting surfaces in each set being one more than the number of said dividers the bottle contacting surfaces of each of said sets of surfaces being coplanar and in alignment with corresponding ones of said corner portions.

3. A separator for use in a bottle carrier of the wraparound type for maintaining bottles arranged in rows out of contact with one another, said separator comprising an elongated body panel having at least two dividers struck therefrom, each of said dividers being hingedly connected to said body panel along two aligned hinge lines for swinging movement from the plane of said body panel to a position generally transverse of said body panel with a portion thereof projecting to each .side of said body panel, each of said dividers having two upper and two lower projecting corner portionsfor engagement between adjacent bottles, and said body panel having upper and lower sets of projecting bottle contacting surfaces for engagement with bottles, the number of bottle contacting surfaces in each set being one more than the number of said dividers, the bottle contacting surfaces of each set including at least one intermediate contacting surface disposed intermediate said dividers.

4. A separator for use in a bottle carrier of the wraparound type for maintaining bottles arranged in rows out of contact with one another, said separator comprising an elongated body panel having at least two dividers struck therefrom, each of said dividers being hingedly connected to said body panel along two aligned hinge lines for swinging movement from the plane of said body panel to a position generally transverse of said body panel with a portion thereof projecting to each side of said body panel, each of said dividers having two upper and two lower corner portions for engagement between adjacent bot-tles, and said body panel having upper and lower sets of bottle contacting surfaces for engagement with bottles, the number of bottle contacting surf-aces in each set being one more than the number of said divider-s, each of said dividers having a centrally disposed fold l-ine aligned with respect to respective ones of said hinge lines and dividing each divider into halves which are to be disposed in angular relation to each other when disposed between bottles.

5. The separator of claim 1 wherein said divider corner portions are in the form of projecting ears.

6. The separator of claim 3 wherein said intermediate contacting surfaces have a wide web extending therebetween.

7. The separator of claim 3 wherein a single opening is formed in said body panel by said dividers, and said intermediate contacting surfaces are in the form of opposed tabs projecting into the opening in the body panel.

8. A separator for use in a bottle carrier of the wraparound type carrying six bottles arranged in two rows of three bottles each for maintaining bottles out of contact with one another, said separator comprising an elongated body panel having ends, two divider-s struck from said body panel with the combined lengths of said dividers approaching-the length of said body panel but less than the length, each of said dividers having aligned stepped upper and lower edges with said edges being connected to said body panel along aligned hinge lines for swinging movement out of the plane of said body panel, each of said dividers having four projecting corners areas adapted to be positioned between adjacent bottles, and said body panel having central bottle contact areas and outer bottle contact areas longitudinally aligned with said divider corners.

9. A separator for use in a bottle carrier of the wraparound type carrying six bottles arranged in two rows of three bottles each for maintaining bottles out of contact with one another, said separator comprising an elonsaid dividers having four projecting corner areas adapted gated body panel having ends, two dividers struck from said body panel with the combined lengths of said divide-rs approaching the length of said body panel but less than the length, each of said dividers having aligned stepped upper and lower edges with said edges being connected to said body panel along aligned hinge lines for swinging movement out of the plane of said body panel, each of said dividers having four corner areas adapted to'be positioned between adjacent bottles, and said body panel having central bottle contact areas and outer bottle contact areas longitudinally aligned with said divider corners, said hinge lines being offset outwardly of third points of said body panel, and said dividers having central fold lines aligned with said hinge lines whereby each divider is divided into halves projecting to opposite sides of said body panel and in angular relation to one another when received between bottles.

10. The separator of claim 8 wherein said intermediate contacting surfaces have a wide web extending therebetween.

11. The separator of claim 8 wherein a single opening is formed in said body panel by said dividers, and said intermediate contacting surfaces are in the form of opposed tabs projecting into the body panel opening.

12. In combination with a bottle carrier of the wraparound type having bottles disposed therein in two rows, a separator maintaining said bottles out of contact with one another, said separator including a body panel disposed between said two rows of bottles, dividers struck from said body panel and disposed between adjacent bottles in said rows of bottles, each divider having a half disposed on each side of said body panel, said body panel and said dividers having upper and lower sets of surfaces engaged by said bottles, and the bottle contact surfaces of each set lying in a single plane.

13. In combination with a bottle carrier of the wraparound type having bottles disposed therein in two rows, a separator maintaining said bottles out of contact with one another, said separator including a body panel disposed between said two rows of bottles, dividers struck from said body panel and disposed between adjacent bottles in said rows of bottles, each divider having a half one another, said separator including a body panel and said dividers having upper and lower sets of surfaces engaged by said bottles, and the bottle contact surfaces of each set lying in a single plane, said bottles having upper and lower enlargements lying in respective ones of said planes.

14. In combination with a bottle carrier of the wraparound type having bottles disposed therein in two rows, a separator maintaining said bottles out of contact with one another, said separator including a body panel disposed between said .two rows of bottles, dividers struck from said body panel and disposed between adjacent bottles in said rows of bottles, each divider having a half disposed on each side of said body panel, said body panel and said dividers having upper and lower sets of surfaces engaged by said bottles, and the bottle contact surfaces of each set lying in a single plane, each of said dividers being hingedly connected to said body panel along hinge lines offset from the spaces between adjacent bottles, and said divider halves being in angular relation.

15. A blank for forming a bottle separator adapted to be disposed between bottles arranged in two rows, said blank being formed of paperboard and being .generally rectangular in outline, a pair of dividers lying in the plane of said blank with each divider being defined by a pair of opposed generally C-shaped cut lines having free ends terminating in offset transverse alignment, hinge lines extending between adjacent ends of said out lines to hingedly connect each divider to the remainder of said blank, said blank having a transverse center line and being symmetrical thereabout, and central tabs defined at least in part by said cut lines projecting between said dividers in transversely opposed and aligned relation.

16. A blank for forming a bottle separator adapted to be disposed between bottles arranged in two rows, said blank being formed of paperboard and being generally rectangular in outline, a pair of dividers lying in the plane of said blank with each divider being defined by a pair of opposed generally C-shaped cut lines having free ends terminating in offset transverse alignment, hinge line-s extending between adjacent ends of said out lines to hingedly connect each divider to the remainder of said blank, said blank having a transverse center line and being symmetrical thereabout, and central tabs defined at least in part by said out lines projecting between said dividers in transversely opposed and aligned relation, and a transverse fold line across each divider in alignment with respective ones of said hinge lines dividing each divider into two parts connected together for disposition in angular relation to one another when disposed between bottles.

17. The blank of claim 15 wherein an enlarged Web extends between said dividers and is connected to said central tabs.

18. The blank of claim 15 wherein said dividers are in contiguous relation and portions of said out lines of the two dividers being coextensive and along said blank transverse center line.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,304,683 12/1942 Finn et al 22013 2,575,654 11/1951 Ca-sler 220-113 2,965,278 12/ 1960 Phillips 22928 3,031,813 5/1962 Ganz.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

THERON E. CONDON, Examiner. 

1. A SEPARATOR FOR USE IN A BOTTLE CARRIER OF THE WRAPAROUND TYPE FOR MAINTAINING BOTTLES ARRANGED IN ROWS OUT OF CONTACT WITH ONE ANOTHER, SAID SEPARATOR COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODY PANEL HAVING AT LEAST TWO DIVIDERS STRUCK THEREFROM, EACH OF SAID DIVIDERS BEING HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO SAID BODY PANEL ALONG TWO ALIGNED HINGE LINES FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT FROM THE PLANE OF SAID BODY PANEL TO A POSITION GENERALLY TRANSVERSE OF SAID BODY PANEL WITH A PORTION THEREOF PROJECTING TO EACH SIDE OF SAID BODY PANEL, EACH OF SAID DIVIDERS HAVING TWO UPPER AND TWO LOWER PROJECTING CORNER PORTIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT BEWEEN ADJACENT BOTTLES, AND SAID BODY PANEL HAVING UPPER AND LOWER SETS OF PROJECTING BOTTLE CONTACTING SURFACES FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH BOTTLES, THE NUMBER OF BOTTLE CONTACTING SURFACES IN EACH SET BEING ONE MORE THAN THE NUMBER OF SAID DIVIDERS. 